False Hope
by Draff
Summary: The story of Auron... His quest to seek vengeance and find out what has happened to him. Minor spoilers - after Yunalesca. My first fanfic, so comments welcomed.
1. Default Chapter

False Hope  
By Draff – skyblitz@ignmail.com  
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_Jecht!!  
How could you?_

I gaped in horror as I saw Lord Braska being savagely torn apart, as though he were the dinner of a thousand hungry sharks, tearing away mercilessly at his pink flesh. I closed my eyes and remembered the time I was laying on the bed of grass, escaping to a world without Sin, a world with perpetual calm. I can still remember the white clouds reaching down and touching my skin, embracing my soul, as though inviting me to heaven. Alas, it was only a dream, for the clouds were but the crisp air, biting at my skin. I lazily opened my eyes. 

_No._

_What?_ I asked out loud. The voice escaped, but to what did it objectify? To what did it oppose? Was it mere irrationality among a flurry of my own irrational thoughts? No, I thought. I sat on beach along a sandy cliff and listened to the seagulls laugh, the oceans sing, and the wind chant. It was as though the elements were singing the Song of Prayer. But soon, the oceans wailed, the winds wept and the seagulls cried. 

_No!_

I heard it again, but what did it want? What did I want? The oceans roared as pain was prevalent throughout. JECHT! What are you doing? I ran along the beach, alongside the seagulls, alongside the waves, alongside the dolphins swimming along What are you doing? A tear trickled down my face, as I clutched on to my sword. You can't! You can't! The wind picked me up as though my will, my thoughts and my desires were felt throughout. You can't! I cried, and waved my sword throughout the air, hopelessly attempting to draw his attention. 

_NO._

The wind had abandoned me. The seagulls had abandoned me. The oceans had abandoned me. I looked back and stopped. I stood looking at the hazy sunset. I fell on to my knees, and began to sob uncontrollably, as I buried my face in the sad, attempting to block out all happiness that had brought joy to everyone else. I wanted to seclude myself and live in the dark, the black, the absent. I wiped the sand from off my forehead. 

_Sorry, my friend._

Lord Braska? I ran and ran. I could feel his pain, and sense his sorrow. Where was I taking myself? I I saw him, on the ground. I approached him and saw his frail body. No I moaned. I took my shirt off, and wiped the sand off before covering his body with it. I wanted to blame someone. I needed to blame someone, yet there was no one within reach, no one to blame, not even Sir Jecht. I laid down alongside Lord Braska and ran my fingers along the sand. I stared up into the night sky and closed my eyes with flaccid hope. 

_ LADY YUNALESCA!!_

I woke up and ran. I ran with fervour, with intense emotion. It gave me the ability to fly, fly amongst the stars, as though time ceased to exist. I approached Lady Yunalesca. 

Why must you torment the people of Spira? Why? I cried. 

Hope is what Spira desires. That is what must be given to Spira. She replied, in an almost sadistic tone. 

At what cost? A temporary reprieve of the inevitable rebirth of Sin? 

Hope keeps us motivated to live, motivated to- 

So you sacrifice the lives of those devoted to Yevon for false hope?! 

Ah, it appears you have lost all hope. Do you dare defy the traditions of the people? 

I was filled with inexplicable rage. I could feel my veins pulsating as I clutched my sword. My eyes were burning with wrath. 

_You don't understand my pain!!_

I stared into her eyes; her emotionless expression angered me even further. Why? Was the pilgrimage meaningless? I knelt down and punched the ground with a firm fist. Blood began to dribble down from the palm of my hands. I began to cry. 

  
I drew my sword, and ran. I felt the breeze brush up against my cheek. Braska Jecht Do you remember the time we were all jovially sitting around the campfire near the ruins of Zanarkand and you both asked me what the hell I was doing? What I was doing, was trying to save the world, but as soon as we reached Zanarkand, I realized that I wasn't trying to save the world. I was trying to save you... not the child that lived next to me, not that neighbour who would torment me to no end about the jug that hung from off my belt. No. I was trying to save the world from you You How insignificant those words are, now that you're gone. 

  
I lunged fourth and pierced her abdomen. I flew back, and saw a flash of bright light. 

  
Am I in a world free from Sin? Am I finally liberated? Have I liberated Braska and Jecht? I smiled. I could feel their souls. _Are they free? _I wondered.. 


	2. Stolen Identity

Stolen Identity - Chapter 2  
By Draff – skyblitz@ignmail.com  
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_Where.. where am I?  
_

I woke up and found my barren skin along the cold concrete floor. _Am I in Zanarkand?_ Where's Lord Braska? Where's Sir Jecht? I looked down at my bloodied palm when it was all coming back to me. I saw it. I saw _her_. _Yunalesca_. I uttered her name under my breath before closing my eyes. I remember now. Is she gone? I wasn't sure, but I felt as though something had happened. Something... I was lost for words. I noticed no wound. Was I not stricken? Was I not injured? Then what would explain my brief disappearance from all that is Spira? I quickly got up and looked around. I was in a state of confusion. What happened? Where am I? I picked up my sword and looked around with a face of puzzlement. What's wrong with me? Why can't I remember? I walked down the steps of the Zanarkand Dome. Why am I here?  
  
I walked through the bitter cold wind, and knee-high snow of Mt. Gagazet. I was filled with distraught and mental anguish. My skin turned pale and I was cold. I was cold... I shut my eyes and fell forward on to the snow. I saw flowers. They were white and danced with the nice gentle breeze. The sun beat against my back. I looked up the clear blue sky. And yet, as I looked, the sky turned grey, and the fields of grass turned into fields of ice and snow. The gentle breeze was no longer warm and soothing. I was on Mt. Gagazet. I crawled, pushing myself inch by inch, with full determination. Yet in an ironic sense, there was no determination within me, so how would I be able to go fourth with any determination whatsoever? I found a small cave part way through, and collapsed. 

_Why?_

  
I saw it again. I saw Yunalesca's face. My heart skipped a beat. I could see her approach me, with a savage look. I tried pulling out my sword, but it wouldn't come out, it just wouldn't come out. _NOOOO!!!_ I cried. _Please, go away._ She wouldn't listen. She struck my abdomen, sending me back, flying back. I could see my own corpse lying there and then the image faded. I woke up to the faces of Ronsos. They didn't ask me any questions, but I was offered a hot drink before I departed at the base of Mt. Gagazet. I thanked them and walked out towards the Calm Lands.  
  
I walked through the thick grass and stood at the cliff, overlooking the water. I sat down and placed my sword beside me and just tried to answer _why._ What has happened in the last twenty-four hours? Was I not travelling with Braska and Jecht? I leaned back and watched as the sun set. The reflection of the sun over the water emitted a warm ambiance and I felt as though someone was reaching down and covering me in a blanket of sympathy. I began dozing off; the world becoming a blur. The horizon shrank and all I could see was black... I opened my eyes for one last glimpse before escaping reality when I saw something in the horizon. I blinked, and concentrated my eyes on whatever it was. It approached the cliff in full might. 

  
Sin is back! Sin is back! Sir, we must leave, Sin is back! A shrewd lady cried. 

What's going on? Sin is back? 

The calm is over! We must retreat to Bevelle! The calm is...over.  


Her voice cracked as she attempted to make out the last few words. She got up and dropped the velvet scarf on the ground as she took one last look at me and ran off with tears in her eyes. I picked up the scarf and looked at Sin. _What are you?_ He approached the coast, and yet I was not ready to leave. I felt a connection with it as it just stood there, waiting for me to say something, or trying to say something to me. I did not hear anything, but for some reason, it wanted something from me, something that it could not do alone. Had I promised it something? _What's wrong with me? What does it want from me? _It left, leaving me further confused. Am I.. Auron? I fell back on to the cushioning of the grass and tried to remember. _Yunalesca_. I was struck, and I fell back. Am I.. am I gone? 

_Am I dead?_


End file.
